July 20, 2012

July 18, 2012

To Kill A Mockingbird, a book I was forced to read in 7th grade English, but didn't remember a single thing about because I was only 12 years old and not interested in the least...at 12 years old, I could barely make myself read this...why do they make 12 year olds read American classic literature??? I was way too young to even appreciate this story....I think you've gotta experience life a lot more than 12 years to be able to appreciate the social and cultural aspects in this story. It is not a difficult read at all, it's quite pleasurable...but not for a 12 year old. As an adult, I loved this story!! Especially now that I can look back on my childhood and laugh at the hilarious antics of Scout, Jem and Dill.....and now that I know what it's like to be a parent, I can appreciate the character of Atticus as well as Calpurnia...and now that I have been around racial and social issues, I have so much more sympathy and empathy for the characters in this book. There is no way I was going to get that kind of emotion and understanding when I was 12 years old. Especially thinking about the part in the story ~ the morning after Tom Robinson's trial, Atticus awoke to a table filled with food, all brought to his house by Tom Robinson's friends and family and Calpurnia was making chicken for breakfast!!! I just cried when I read that part...that was beautiful and so powerful. Ain't no way a 7th grader would experience those emotions after reading that. Anyhow, my point...if you read this in high school, and you are much older now, and you've been through the ringer a time or two, and you've experienced love and blessings as well as pain and loss and suffering, please give this book a second chance....don't just go by your feelings about it when you were forced to read it in middle school.

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And then, last but not least,

I've done a little quilting!

I had so much fun making this block!! I used fabrics from my stash. What I really wanted to do was go out and buy more fabric...but I've gotta stop that! Use what I have!!!!!! Anyhow, I'm going to make another one with reds and whites! I think that will be very pretty!! This square is going to be made into a kitchen table mat. Something to put in the middle of table for your salt and pepper and butter dish to sit on. I still have to make the binding and quilt it.

July 13, 2012

I am in love with journals...{and scrapbook supplies}. Actually I just love journals....period! I love the journal section at the book store! I usually wish I could have all of them! What is it that attracts me to these pretty books with blank pages? I'm not sure...maybe it's the possibility of what is yet to be written or created. Since I cannot afford to buy every adorable journal at the book store, I thought I'd try my hand at making some. They are completely made from scratch...hand sewn, the whole nine yards. I up-cycled thin cardboard from another project for the front and back of the journals, used scrapbook paper to decorate, and embroidery floss to sew the pages together. The blank pages are made from plain white card stock. When needed, I used Elmer's clear school glue. Just a quick note here: this started out as a project with my youngest son. He was totally into it until something went wrong and he got a little frustrated. He's 10 years old and completely capable of making one of these journals...but I just don't think he was in the mood for pressing on, this particular day. However, I still wanted to keep the title to my post as "summer activities with the kids" for any of you out there who have kids that would be interested in making a journal. It is such a great summertime activity! They could make a bird journal, or a sketch pad....or just a writing journal for poems and such. Anyhow, I just thought you might be wondering where the photos of my kids were in this post....so now you know! :)

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So, you're wondering how I put it all together, aren't ya? Well, here's my secret...I watched this great tutorialon Youtube...she does a great job of explaining and showing every detail of how to make a simple, basic, journal. Once, you get the basic idea, you can just run with it!

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I customized the inside front of this journal. Polly is my mother-in-law...I made this for her for her birthday which is coming up next week.I used my giant foam alphabet stamps and brushed them with creamy white, acrylic craft paint. I am loving the look of it!

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And...I'm just plain 'ole in love with the cover on this tiny doodle journal I made for myself. I cut this cute little sewing machine from some scrapbook paper. It's just adorable!

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Now I'm in the mode, I've been dreaming up all sizes and styles of journals I could make. I have so many pieces of gorgeous scrapbook paper just begging to be used. Now, I must get to work...so many ideas, so little time!

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Do you like journals?

Do you keep a journal?

I have several journals that I have been writing in since I was about 25 years old. Not to mention my diary that I still have from when I was a child and a pre-teen. Oh brother, the things I used to write! Hilarious! I intend to give all of my journals to my children when I am old and gray. I hope they will be interested in them. I try to write about daily things, but also, my thoughts on things get intertwined along the way. Hopefully they will get that it is a piece of history to their past.

July 3, 2012

When it comes to imagination and far off lands, there is nothing quite like the old classics.

I absolutely love finding these old vintage reads at my local, used book store.

I can pick them up for less than a dollar a piece.

What a deal!

And what great stories!

I especially love these quick reads, no more than half an inch thick, these books!

The writing style of way-back-when, really intrigues me.

It's nothing like today.

The language, it's so proper and charming!

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of these titles pictured above . . .

and I would love to share them with one of my readers!

* Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson
*written in 1886, first copyright 1958
A young man trying to claim his inheritance finds himself at the mercy of his wicked Uncle who wants the inheritance for himself. When he fails at trying to murder the boy, he sells him to pirates. The young man eventually manages to escape and finds himself on a very long adventure trying to seek his fortune.

* Seventeen, by Booth Tarkington *first copyright 1915A 17 year old named Willie falls desperately in love with a young lady named Miss Pratt. She is his first crush and he tries so desperately to do the right thing, say the right thing and wear the right thing, all in attempts to charm the young lady right into his arms. This story has many moments of hilarity and I think we can all remember back when we wanted so much to impress someone. It was especially interesting reading the point of view of a young man...definitely entertaining!

* The Light In The Forest, by Conrad Richter
*first copyright 1953
A young boy of 2 years old was taken captive by Native American Indians. He was raised by them, just like a son, until he was 15 years old. Suddenly the white man has made a deal with Indians to turn over all of their white captives. When the young white boy is returned to his family, it is not the happy homecoming that everyone expected. Find out how this boy fares being forced back into his white family he has no memory of.

Also included in this giveaway is this set of 3 bookmarks, handmade by me!
I had so much fun making them, and I hope you will enjoy them!

July 1, 2012

Of course, I have always admired the glorious, gigantic blooms amongst my bountiful squash plants, but I never anticipated they would show up on my dinner plate . . . let alone, be battered and fried.

Fried zucchini blossoms . . . what a wonderful concept . . . yet so foreign a concept to me . . . as I have never been tempted by the eating of flora. Somehow, someway, I had the courage to try such a thing, and I am oh-so-glad I did. Is it NOT fun to step out of our comfort zone once in a while?

I say yes!

I am ever so grateful that Kretchmann's Farm put these tender, young blossoms in our little wooden crate, as I would have never ventured forward to trying this if not given a little push! Such an easy thing really. Searching the net, I found a simple recipe for batter . . . laden with beer, that is . . . well, just a 1/2 cup of beer . . . not so much laden . . . just enough to give a magnificent, yet subtle infused flavor.

Well, it was now or never. Another day contemplating the eating of flowers would have surely been the demise of the blossoms! I gently wiped each with a lightly dampened towel . . . careful to not tear. I whipped up the creamy batter, scooped many a dollop of Crisco into my cast iron skillet over a medium high flame....melting it down and rising it to temperature. I plucked the stamen from the center of each flower, then dunked each into the batter. Gently, one at a time, placing each coated blossom into the sizzling oil . . . cooking a minute or two on each side. Once they were light golden and crisp, I plucked each blossom from the hot oil and let them rest and drain on a torn piece of paper grocery bag. A sprinkling of salt and pepper and wa-laa, they were ready for devouring.

Wow, don't they look delicious!!

I let them cool a couple minutes and then bravely . . . well, brave for me . . . took a bite.

And . . .

I really liked it!

I found most of the flavor to be at the base of the flower.

It tasted just like zucchini!

I will definitely make these again!

I am hooked now!

If you find yourself eager to fry a few of these babies . . . you may find them at farmer's markets or your own garden, of course. There are male and female flowers and both are edible. You'll want to pick them when they are tender and young and have barely blossomed. Just be careful you aren't picking female flowers before they've had the chance to bear fruit. The male flowers are safe to pick because they will not bear fruit. They will have a thinner, longer stem. The female flowers will have a thick stem and a tiny bulb at the bottom of the flower . . . which then grows into a zucchini. I have read that once the zucchini is sufficiently growing, it is safe to pick the blossom without worry of halting it's growth.

I hope I have inspired you to give this summer-time delicacy a go!

Some of you may be old pros at cooking zucchini blossoms.

Some of you may even have fond memories of your grandmother cooking these.

About Me

I am a modern day homemaker with an old school twist, a stay-at-home mom to our two boys, and a devoted wife to my wonderful hubby. I love keeping things a little on the old fashioned side such as cooking the majority of our meals from scratch, but not everything. We raise chickens for our eggs and I keep a small herb garden. If you are looking for perfect, you won't find it here. I enjoy hand embroidery, quilting, cooking, baking, reading, blogging, coffee and chocolate. These are a few of my favorite things!